If And When We Rise
by Bakageta
Summary: Discontinued. After dying in a suspicious Hollow attack, Ichigo is taken to the academy. Unfortunately, things start going downhill when he starts hearing more than just the voice of his Zanpakuto. Ichi-centric, no pairings. Discontinued.
1. Dying With My Song Unsung

If And When We Rise

Chapter 01: Dying With My Song Unsung

Bakageta

'_I've got a gun in my hand but that gun won't cock_

_My finger's on the trigger but that trigger seems locked_

_And I can't stop staring at the tick tock clock_

_And even if I could I would never give up_

_With a vest on my chest and a bullet in my lung_

_I can't believe I'm dying with my song unsung'_

_--Streetlight Manifesto, 'Point/Counterpoint'_

In all his life Ichigo had never seen anything as physically and mentally disturbing as the monster that had torn through the wall of his house.

It was easily as big as five people, towering over Ichigo's near six feet of height. It was a thing made of contrasts, bone white mask and bruise dark body, short legs with small feet and long arms with table sized hands. One of those hands had been holding Karin when he had ran downstairs after hearing both his sisters scream. His first instinct had been to attack but the monster had tossed Karin aside in favor of him before he could follow through on the impulse. Instead, he was forced to jump to the side to cushion his younger sister's fall.

Now, Ichigo decided as he knelt by Karin's still form, now he could go after it. As he reached for the nearest weapon, a folding chair, he wondered where his father was. Ichigo decided it didn't matter as long as he was getting help.

The monster roared, Ichigo felt more than heard it, and it charged at him. He brought the chair down on its head, doing little more than annoy the beast. In response, it drew back one of its huge hands to strike him. Ichigo saw it coming, but he was too slow and was batted across the room. The walls and furniture blurred as he flew past them but after a feeling of intense pain and a loud snap he blacked out.

Seconds later, Ichigo came to in a mass of rubble. The monster was staring at him like a cat would stare at its prey; he realized that the monster was toying with him. It made a sound that was more like that of a collapsing bridge than a laugh and reached into the rubble and pulled out something horribly familiar.

Ichigo wondered, detachedly, if he was having an out of body experience like those on TV and if he would be snapped back into the him that was being roughly pulled from the wreckage of the wall. The monster's mask seemed to grin as it dropped the body that Ichigo could somehow sense was his physical form. The beast rose to its feet and ambled towards Ichigo who snatched up a chunk of metal that had once been a table leg.

Ichigo was again only just able to see the attack coming and was only barely able to raise the table leg, using it to defend himself with as if it were a sword. The beast came at him again and again, each time he was almost too late to block the blow and often the monster's fist would push into the table leg with so much force that it would knock Ichigo off of his feet. But each time this happened the monster would wait for him to rise to his feet. Ichigo struggled against the beast for what seemed like forever until a cry brought the monster's attention away from Ichigo.

"Ichi-nii! Karin!"

It was Yuzu, who had staggered up the stairs to try to warn Ichigo before passing out. She had, it seemed, woken and stumbled downstairs. Now she was sobbing over her siblings. Karin, who had been roused by Yuzu's shaking and sobbing, sat up and looked over where Ichigo stood, at a standstill with the monster.

"Ichi-nii, is that you?" She asked, just loud enough to hear over the sound of her brother struggling against the monster. "What are you doing?"

Her voice broke the stupor the beast had been in and it leapt away from Ichigo and went after Karin. Almost too late, Ichigo realized what was happening and, fueled by both fear and a protective rage, rushed to defend his sisters.

He moved more quickly than he ever had in his life, it was as if a smothering pressure had been lifted from him. Ichigo couldn't help but smirk at the monster's shocked expression when it realized its jaw was jammed open with the table leg.

"Hey, Bastard, I thought you were after me?" Ichigo said glaring up into the beast's glowing yellow eyes.

"How? You aren't Shinigami…" It said, its voice distorted, but Ichigo didn't think it was because of the table leg wedged in its mouth. It sniffed at him through the mask's nose slits. "But, you almost smell like one…" Then it lunged at him.

Ichigo brought his arms up in a block, bracing himself against the wedged in table leg, he allowed himself to be pushed across the room until they reached the wreckage of the wall. Ichigo pushed off and grabbed two of the remaining table legs, one in each hand. The monster turned for him and as it did he stabbed one of the table legs into its ribcage, just below its shoulder blade.

It screamed garbled profanities, swiping its arm at Ichigo, who tried to leap out of the way but suffered a glancing blow. He was knocked away, though he managed to keep his feet.

"Ichigo!" His father's voice rang out.

Distracted, Ichigo looked up and saw Isshin as well as an unfamiliar white haired man. "Old man? What are you doing here?"

"Watch out!" Isshin shouted as the monster took advantage of his son's distraction, bringing its hand down nearly on top of Ichigo, who was barely able to raise the table leg to block in time. The monster didn't give up though and kept pushing, locking the two into another stalemate.

"Old man," Ichigo said with effort from under the beast's fist, "get Karin and Yuzu outta here! I'll hold this thing off!"

"No, Ichigo, you've got to—" Isshin began but was interrupted when the white haired man grabbed his shoulder. "What, Ryuuken?"

"His chain has been severed." Ryuuken said simply, gesturing towards Ichigo. When Ichigo glanced down he saw a slim length of silver chain dangling from his chest. Isshin noticed the chain as well and almost immediately became downcast.

"There is a Shinigami on the way as well." Ryuuken continued bending down to pick up Yuzu and Karin, both too scared to protest. "You cannot run the risk that they might recognize you."

"You're right," Isshin sighed, "thank you." He then stooped to pick up his son's body.

"Don't thank me," Ryuuken said, adjusting his glasses, "I am just repaying a debt, nothing more." That said he turned and left, carrying Ichigo's sisters with him.

"I'll see you later, then. Don't lose, Ichigo." Isshin said sadly and, with a last look at Ichigo, left bearing the body of his son.

The monster took another chance as Ichigo mutely watched his father leave, swiping out with its free hand. Ichigo was sent flying once more into the pile of debris. Only, this time he didn't land safely.

As the monster approached, all Ichigo was aware of was the terrible throbbing pain in his stomach. He looked down and saw a strip of metal protruding from his gut. It held him in place as the beast raised its arm, a triumphant look on its mask.

'_I'm going to die…'_ Ichigo thought as he watched the monster's arm swing down as if it were in slow motion. Then, he thought, _'I don't __want__ to die.'_

Time seemed to stop.

"**Then fight. Cast aside your fear. Stand up and win."**

At the time, Ichigo didn't wonder where the voice had come from, it had spoken the truth, and, as he stood wrenching the metal from his gut, the monster began moving. It didn't matter to Ichigo; he was full of his own reiatsu, floating high on waves of his own making, as his eyes glowed blue.

The fight was finished quickly. Ichigo darted away from the attack and then back in while the monster was still recovering its lost balance. Ichigo gave it no chance to recover and punched the beast square in the center of its mask. He grinned as he saw and heard the cracks form across the mask's white surface.

But as the monster's mask crumbled, Ichigo was overcome by a sense of bone deep exhaustion. He sunk to the floor clutching his wounded stomach, bleeding only slightly when blood should have flowed all too freely from it.

* * *

Kuchiki Rukia bowed at the waist as she entered Ukitake Taichou's office to give her report on her mission to the Real World.

"I have returned from my mission, Taichou." She said.

"Welcome back, Kuchiki." Ukitake said as if he hadn't already noticed her reiatsu. "Did anything of interest happen?"

Rukia knew that he knew something had happened, if nothing had she wouldn't have had to give her report in person, but both she and Ukitake had to comply with the formalities.

"Yes, Taichou."

He motioned for her to continue.

"As you know Taichou, my mission was a simple purification. I was to purify a group of Hollows that had recently emerged into the Real World under a time limit of three days. The mission went well until I had purified all but the last Hollow.

"Its signal had become fuzzy and I was unable to confirm its location. I was barely able to sense it by myself. Regardless, I followed it, and, as I neared it, its pressure became more and more confused. I had almost reached the Hollow when its reiatsu completely disappeared. I checked my reiphone and it reported the Hollow as purified. I was suspicious, so I checked the place where the purification was recorded.

"It was a human building, a clinic I think, and it was badly damaged. There were no humans in the wreckage, I assume they were either consumed or they escaped. There was a soul in the building's remains. He was unconscious and bleeding from an odd wound on his stomach."

"How was it odd?" Ukitake asked, openly interested.

"It was… off."Rukia said slowly as she thought of how to explain it. "It was a very deep wound, as if the soul had been run through, but, I'm not sure how else to say it, it wasn't bleeding enough. The only way I can explain it is that the wound was somehow plugged. I was unsure of my ability to heal such a wound so I took the soul to the fourth division."

"Why?" Ukitake asked.

"W-well… the entire incident was very odd, if a Hollow disappears on its own then it is because it has retreated to Hueco Mundo, not because it was purified. I checked the official records and that Hollow is listed as being purified… I thought that, were he saved, that boy could be able to tell us what happened, His reiatsu is very high for a human, he could have seen what happened before he was killed."

"Any other reasons?" He had noticed that Rukia had fidgeted during nearly the entire course of her explanation.

"Ah—He, well… He closely resembles Shiba-Fukutaichou…"

* * *

"Ukitake-Taichou, I'm surprised you weren't here earlier." Unohana Retsu said as she entered her patient's room.

"He looks almost the same…" Ukitake said, not turning from the unknown soul lying on the bed before him.

"He does." Unohana agreed. "But Ukitake, it is highly unlikely that Kaien-kun has reincarnated so soon."

"I know, but…"

"Just because he looks similar doesn't mean he is the same, for all we know he could be the reincarnation of some other Shiba."

Ukitake nodded. "It's hard seeing his face again."

"I know." Unohana said, her family, though not as important, had been closely associated with the Shiba. The loss of Kaien may not have hurt her as badly as it had others, but she had still wept for him.

"What's going to happen to him?" Ukitake wondered.

"When he wakes it's likely he'll be questioned, but after that he'll go to the Academy."

"Hm…"

"Keep an eye on him for me, please, Ukitake. When he came in he was coated in hollow reiatsu, it's mostly gone now, but it should have vanished completely by now."

"Really?" Ukitake asked. "I can't feel anything ."

Unohana sighed, "Most likely I can only feel it because of my familiarity with reiatsu diagnosis."

"I'll watch over him, don't worry."

* * *

On the whole, Ichigo thought, death was nothing like he'd thought it would be. No wings, no halos, no white dresses, it seemed that death was pretty much like life.

He wasn't quite sure what to make of the whole thing.

When he'd woken a woman called Unohana Retsu had explained everything to him, that he was dead, that most likely he'd been killed by a Hollow, and a myriad of other details that he had no idea about, but, by the way Retsu had explained them, were commonplace to her. All the new information had sent his mind spinning. After that she'd given him some hot tea and informed him that someone would be around in about an hour to ask a few questions.

An hour had passed and his teacup sat empty on his bedside table.

Death, he thought, was full of the unexpected. This was demonstrated by the young looking kid standing a few feet away from his bed.

"You're here to ask questions, right?" Ichigo asked, skeptically.

"Yes." The boy replied. "My name is Captain Hitsugaya Toushirou."

"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo."

"I know." Hitsugaya said after a pause and a twitch.

Ichigo sat up in his bed, raising himself up to Hitsugaya's eye level. The boy twitched again.

"Do you remember what happened?" Hitsugaya asked after a long pause.

"Some of it. I remember the monster and trying to fight it, and I remember getting beaten badly, but other than that nothing." Ichigo half-lied. His father somehow had a past with these Shinigami, the kind that wasn't good; he didn't want to inadvertently cause them to go after the Old Man, regardless of how he'd acted. However, and this was something that really bothered Ichigo, after his father and Ryuuken left, his memory became almost completely blank. There were bits of memory, seeing a pole running him through and hearing a voice, but nothing he could make sense of. It frustrated him greatly.

"So you don't remember who killed the Hollow?" The boy-captain pressed.

"Nope."

"You're sure of this?"

"Completely."

"Fine then," Hitsugaya said turning to leave, "but if you ever remember anything about the incident, you are to tell one of the Gotei Thirteen's Captains. Anyone will do, though I'd advise against the Twelfth Division's." He left, shutting the room's door behind him.

When he was gone Ichigo looked up at the ceiling and wondered what would happen next.

_**Author's Note**_

This is most definetly the longest chapter I've ever written!

It even ended up being longer than I originally planned, but fairies possessed my fingers and made me write more. How nice of them.

My one request is that you **_leave a review_**. I accept anonymous reviews so you have no excuse. How soon I resume work on this depends on the response I get. I don't mind if you copy paste 'Wonderful' or 'Good Job' just let me know if you like what I'm doing.


	2. Back In The Game Again

If And When We Rise

Chapter 02: Back In The Game Again

Bakageta

"_Stay up man don't drown_

_It's time to go to town_

_Today is just another yesterday_

_You're back in the game again_

_You're going to win it in the end_

_Disconnect the dots and be on your way."_

_--'Disconnect the Dots', Smashmouth_

**Reviewer Response is at the end of the chapter.**

"Hey, Kurosaki-san, wake up… If you don't we'll be late, and I don't wanna be late to our first class…"

Ichigo glared at his new roommate without really looking at him as he pulled himself out of bed. He'd met his roommate late last night and hadn't had time to learn more about him other than his name, Creek Crosser, before he'd fallen asleep. He glanced out the window and noticed that the sun had long since risen. This gave him a new sense of urgency as he dashed hurriedly past Crosser, who was already awake, dressed, and devoting his time to following Ichigo who was gathering up his things. After a few thumps and muffled swears Ichigo pulled out the haori and hakama that made up the Academy's uniform and threw them on after checking briefly and finding the correct third year insignia.

"We won't have time for breakfast." Crosser remarked forlornly as Ichigo jammed his feet into his stiff new waraji sandals.

"Doesn't matter." Ichigo said as he stood and raced past Crosser through the door. He was halfway down the hallway before Crosser could catch up.

"What's… what's your next class?" Crosser asked, slightly out of breath and trailing behind Ichigo.

"Zanpakuto…" Ichigo said, "s' the only one I've got today."

"It's the same as mine. Think it'll be anything like Zanjutsu?"

"Probably not." Ichigo responded, skidding around a corner and into a large dojo-like classroom.

There weren't any chairs so he crossed his legs and sat down on the tatami, seconds later Crosser sat down next to him, somewhat winded.

There were still a few minutes before class started; Ichigo took the time to survey his classmates. There were roughly twenty of them and they all seemed to be staring at him. Ichigo nearly stood to yell at them before he realized that, for once, he wasn't the object of everyone's attention. Nearly all of them were staring at Crosser.

And with good reason Ichigo realized, giving his roommate a second glance. As he looked Crosser over, Ichigo wondered how he hadn't noticed how… different his roommate looked compared to everyone else. Maybe it was because he'd been tired and distracted, but now that he saw Crosser in the classroom's light it was impossible not to notice. The thing that jumped out was the contrast between his skin and hair. His hair was feathery and bright white; because of this his tanned skin seemed even darker.

Briefly, Ichigo was relieved that the blatant, open stares weren't fixed on him, but then he saw the look of absolute horror on Crosser's face. He was afraid, Ichigo realized, he was completely, utterly terrified. The rest of the class kept staring either not seeing their classmate's fear or ignoring it; a few, probably former classmates, were whispering amongst themselves.

Ichigo was forcibly reminded of his own days in both middle and high school, and, though he had no idea of what to say, nearly stood up in Crosser's defense. But before he could stand he was beaten to it by the girl sitting opposite them.

"God! What is wrong with all of you?!" She said loudly. "If ya'll're this freaked out by some guy's hair yer not gunna last! I've seen a real hollow and a Shinigami's Shikai, it's gunna get a hell of a lot freakier than white hair."

She got up and walked across the room to where Ichigo and Crosser were and sat down as if she was proving a point. Ichigo glanced over at her as she glared at the rest of the class. He could understand why she'd gotten so mad; she could easily be mistaken for a boy with her painfully short blonde hair and nearly flat chest. Ichigo looked back at Crosser who was alternating nervous looks between the class and his tomboy savior.

"T-thanks…" Crosser choked out.

"No problem. It pisses me off when people do shit like that." She said, and then held her hand out. "I'm Osamu Akiko."

Crosser stared for a second before taking her hand in his and replying, "Creek Crosser. And this is my roommate." He gestured to Ichigo who'd been watching the other students before Crosser had brought Akiko's attention to him.

"Kurosaki Ichigo." He said simply, looking over at Akiko.

"Pff!" She snorted. "What guy in his right mind names himself Strawberry?! And what kind of surname is Creek?! Ya'll're weirder than ya look!"

Ichigo and Crosser both began protesting Akiko at the same time but Ichigo was louder.

"Bitch! My name doesn't mean strawberry! My mother named me 'Ichi' 'Go', 'One who protects'!"

"And Creek is my given name!" Crosser added.

"Fine, geeze! I'm sorry I said anything!" Akiko said, placatingly holding up the palms of her hands. "Wait… you both remember you're names from when you were alive?"

"Yeah…" Crosser said hesitantly.

"Why wouldn't I?" Ichigo asked indignantly.

"Well," Akiko began, "usually Konso removes some memories of a soul's past life. Most often people'll forget their name and sometimes, maybe even their family. I forgot both, so I made up my own."

"I didn't remember my name either," Crosser said, "but my father and I died at the same time and we remembered each other's name."

"I wasn't Konsoed." Ichigo said simply.

"What?!" Akiko and Crosser blurted out simultaneously.

"How'd that happen?!" Akiko continued, "I thought you couldn't get to Sou—"

"Quiet please." A Shinigami said interrupting Akiko.

"Welcome to Zanpakuto class. To graduate from Academy a student must know the name of their Zanpakuto. Finding out can take anywhere from months to years. Once you know its name this class will be dropped from your schedule. You may then either have a free day or take additional classes.

"My name is Yamoda Sakana; I will help you find your Zanpakuto."

The entire class had been quiet while the thin woman had spoken, and, solely because of her presence, they remained they remained silent as she gathered up some Asauchi and gave one to each student. After all the nameless swords had been passed out she stood at the head of the classroom.

"I have given each of you an Asauchi, a nameless Zanpakuto. You have used them many times in your Zanjutsu and basic Kendo classes. However, these are unlocked Asauchi.

"Once you channel enough of you reiatsu into them, they will become yours."

Akiko interrupted, raising her hand. "Yamoda-sensei, I thought Shinigami manifested their own Zanpakuto?"

"They do rarely. During the time I've spent here only one student ever managed to manifest his Zanpakuto without the help of a base Asauchi. That student is now the Captain of the Tenth Division.

"Now, if you will all please channel your reiatsu into your Asauchi."

Ichigo picked his Asauchi up and laid it horizontally across his knees. Placing one hand on the sword's hilt and the other on the end of the sheath, Ichigo slowly drew his reiatsu down one arm and into the other using the Asauchi as a conduit. He closed his eyes, lulled by the slow flow of energy and the concentration needed to maintain it. Ichigo had found, early in his second year, that he simply had too much reiatsu to be able to control it easily; the only thing that he could do with any ease was release it in large amounts. Doing anything else required so much concentration and attention that he would shut out the classroom and the teacher.

Ichigo opened his eyes to see if anything about the Asauchi had changed, but, when he looked down, the nameless Zanpakuto was gone.

The classroom had disappeared, Ichigo saw as he stood and took in his new surroundings. It was a cityscape with skyscrapers going on endlessly in any direction he looked. The weather was cool and it looked as if the sun was setting, although where the sun was Ichigo couldn't have said as his shadow was cast directly downwards. There were a few clouds in the sky, but they didn't seem like rain clouds.

Ichigo would have almost thought he was back in the living world if not for two things. There was seemingly no one other than himself in the city, and he was standing on the side of a building as if someone had taken gravity and given it a ninety degree flip.

Carefully, Ichigo walked to the building's edge and looked down at the endless series of skyscrapers below him.

"This," He said, "is messed up."

* * *

Rukia sighed dramatically as she tucked another file into its place in the Thirteenth Division's record room. She'd been talked into the job by Sentaro or maybe Kiyone, Rukia couldn't remember which. But it was worth it; she thought with a grimace, if they trusted her with paperwork then they trusted her with the less important Real World missions. That was why Rukia put up with the tedious filing, it allowed her to receive missions that, due to her low rank, she wouldn't normally get.

So for the past two and a half hours she'd been filing away the results of the Shinigami Academy's recent promotion test. Rukia made another over dramatic sigh as she picked up another file from the seemingly endless stack. She glanced down at it and her eyes widened when she saw the small photo clipped to the folder.

It was the soul she had rescued nearly two years ago.

Rukia couldn't resist, she hadn't been able to find out anything more after she'd given her report to Ukitake-taichou. She flipped the file open and let her eyes roam over it.

"Kurosaki Ichigo." Rukia read quietly to herself. "Currently in the third year. Completed the first two years of study in one and a half. Highly skilled in Hakuda and Hohou, above average in Zanjutsu. Below average in Kidou and general reiatsu manipulation due to his inability to control large amounts of reiatsu. Recommended for placement in the advanced class."

Rukia flipped to the next page and found a list of classes, another flip led to indecipherable graphs, and all of the remaining pages turned out to be similar.

She closed the file with as much force as she could without spilling its contents. It hadn't answered any of her questions, and now that she'd been reminded she couldn't sink her ideas and theories about the soul, Ichigo she reminded herself, into the far reaches of her mind. Ideas and plans flew through Rukia's thoughts as she continued her filing. She discarded them all until one struck her.

To be able to graduate, a student needed to be able to satisfactorily perform at least one kidou. If Ichigo was as bad at kidou as his file said then he would need a tutor. Rukia knew she wasn't a Kidou Master, but she was very, very skilled. Surely she would be able to tutor him, and if she found out some other things about him, well, maybe she could finally put her memories of Kaien to rest.

* * *

"It's been awhile, Yoruichi." Kuukaku Shiba said as she watched the slim, black cat wind her way across the room.

"It has." Yoruichi agreed standing in front of Kuukaku. "But unfortunately I can't stay to talk. I have a request of you from Isshin."

So he's okay…"Kuukaku said breathing out smoke from her pipe.

"As fine as he can be, given the situation."

"Hmmn… and what's he want?"

"There's an Academy student called Kurosaki Ichigo, there's going to be some trouble concerning him. I need to know if you can watch over him for a few hours."

"I don't see why not. When'll he be here?"

"That all depends on Kurosaki. It could be in a month, it could be in three months. Kisuke couldn't tell me anything more specific, so either he really doesn't know…"

"Or he can't tell you." Kuukaku finished, putting out her pipe.

Yoruichi nodded and stood. "Sometimes I wonder if he's worth the trouble."

_**Notes and Answers**_

Hakuda- hand to hand combat

Hohou- footwork (Shunpo and how not to trip over yourself in a fight)

Zanjutsu- sword techniques

Kendo- sword fighting

Thanks to miggrator for both the amazingly speedy beta and the character designs! Thanks to the REAL Creek for letting me use his character.

This chapter just kept growing! Luckily for you guys what I couldn't fit here will be in the next chapter which I've already got ideas for. Also, for Creek the actual person, if I've butchered your character in any way fashion or form tell me and I'll see what I can do. The OCs in this fic WILL NOT PLAY MAJOR ROLES, in fact I'm probably going to kill off one of them.

THANKS FOR REVIEWING: seasnake.756, UNTensaZangetsu, nice (anon), Mizu1411, Unsane Chibi, Creek (anon), LoveIchigo, Naerrchen, Xstarlight-dragonX, ladyaffirmed, Icewind Alchemist, Kaiserin Tammy, DJay, Arwen, shloki, Dark Inu Fan, Wild Dragon's breath, and chica blanca

**Wild Dragon's breath:** They never say if Chad actually purifies the hollows or just blows them to bits, but I guess what happened with Ichigo was similar. I can't go into the details as I think it would spoil some of this fic, but Ichigo did a lot more than blow the hollow to bits but less than what killing it with a Zanpakuto would have done

I've already answered whether Ichigo will meet up with Rukia, but as far as pairing go... there will probably be places where you can read between the lines. However, there are 'officially' no pairings, so no relationship development beyond friends and most definitely no fluff.

**Kaiserin Tammy: **o-o; I didn't think anyone would be pissed at Isshin! But are reasons, hopefully They'll be explained next chapter. And of course Ichigo is freaked out, I think anyone would be! XD It's good to know I can write Hitsugaya, that was the first time I ever tried to. I feel sorry for him, he always seems to get the crap jobs.

**LoveIchigo: **Is this soon enough? I don't think I could fit all the characters in this if I tried, but there are groups that will show up and be important, or at least make cameos. Urahara and his gang, Byakuya and Renji, and Aizen will show up and it's also possible that some Vaizards and Arrancar might show up.

**UNTensaZangetsu: **AHH! Such a long review and so many questions! You'll have to wait to see how strong he gets, thats part of the fun of a story. To me it seems like Ichigo will always excel at things, so he will grow quickly. The hollow question will be answered next chapter! And Aizen will show up, he's still after the Hyougoku but I don't want to say anymore on that. Done! I think I got them all!

THANK YOU FOR READING!


	3. We’ll Meet Halfway

If And When We Rise

Chapter 03: We'll Meet Halfway

Bakageta

'_You and I were meant to be_

_Even though you don't know me_

_I don't even know your name_

_And do you think that you know mine?_

_You were lonely, I was bored_

_I may be more than you can afford_

_But I'm sure we'll meet halfway'_

_--The Barenaked Ladies, 'Call Me Calmly'_

**Reviewer response is at the end of the chapter.**

_This is Un-Beta'd_

The first time Ichigo tried to jump from the side of one skyscraper to the next he overshot and would have fallen if he hadn't grabbed the building's edge. Ichigo had decided, as he pulled himself up, that the gravity was even more messed up than he'd previously thought. When he was once more standing on the side of a building he looked around out of habit, trying to get his bearings, and when that failed he took off in a likely looking direction.

Sometime later, he wasn't sure how much, Ichigo realized he was headed toward something. It was a distant figure, seemingly floating, but as Ichigo neared it he saw that it was a person who wasn't floating but was crouched on a pole that jutted out of the side of one of the ubiquitous skyscrapers.

"Ichigo." The figure greeted once Ichigo had stopped a short distance from the flagpole's base.

"Who are you?" Ichigo asked, warily, looking up at the tattered looking men.

"-/4l\l&37\-ll."

"What?" Ichigo was sure he'd heard what the man had said, but he was unable to comprehend it. It was as if the word had become blurry and obscured on its journey from his ears to his mind.

"It seems you are still unable to hear my name." The man said neutrally.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I've called to you always these past two years, ever since I first woke and you heard my call. But your mind has been elsewhere since then."

"I don't know…"

"You're aware of me, otherwise you wouldn't be here. Though awareness won't help you much, Ichigo. I'm more manifested than I've ever been and that means it is as well."

"Could you start making sense!?" Ichigo asked exasperatedly.

"It's come." The man said simply.

"Wha—" Ichigo started but was forced back by the pressure of a sudden presence of reiatsu. Ichigo regained his lost balance in time to watch a creature crawl up and over the side of the building he stood on.

At first Ichigo was too disgusted by the thing's pulsing form to tell what it was, but, as he watched it, Ichigo realized it had a hollow's mask. The mask, like the rest of it, was constantly shifting, one minute it was smooth and tapered, the next horned and bulky. Its body was similar, its limbs shortening and lengthening as well as its torso and sometimes its tail. The only constant was the hole that was always in the center of its chest regardless of the changes surrounding it.

"What the hell is that!?" Ichigo demanded, not taking his eyes off of the disturbing hollow.

"Hunger." The man said from his flagpole perch. "It is the essence of the hollow you purified two years ago."

"What!?"

"It's coming." The man said.

Ichigo cursed as he realized the hollow was charging at him, because of its shifting form he hadn't noticed when it had started to move. The hollow lashed out at him with one of its forelimbs and Ichigo leapt backwards to avoid the blow. He reached for his sword instinctively and swore again when he realized it wasn't there; he had nothing to attack with.

The hollow continued its attacks, striking at his feet and legs almost as soon as he landed. The only choice Ichigo had was to keep dodging, the hollow gave him no chance to attack. After nearly fifteen minutes of this, Ichigo began to tire, his dodges becoming more like near hits. Any confidence he'd had had drained away leaving only fear. The old man had stayed, silent and still, on the flagpole the entire time.

"Ichigo," The man spoke, finally, "Why do you fear?"

"Because," Ichigo bit out in mid-leap, "I don't have a goddamn sword!"

"No sword?" The man questioned. "I stand before you. Only fear clouds your senses. That malformed creature can do nothing to harm you."

"Tell that to him then!" Ichigo shouted as the hollow slammed its clawed hand down where he'd been moments before.

"What is it that you fear that makes the very strength of your soul quaver?"

"Death!"

"No." The man's eyes were hidden by the glare in his sunglasses. "There is no true shinigami that fears death, and you are a shinigami at the very core of your being.

"Ichigo, what you fear is failure. Failure to know me. Failure to win. Failure to protect."

Suddenly the man was gone from the flagpole. He reappeared in front of Ichigo, easily blocking the hollows fist with one hand over his shoulder.

"If I can stop it as I am now, surely you have nothing to fear.

"Ichigo, stand tall."

And he did.

"Don't turn back. Don't falter. Look back and you will age. Fear and you will die."

Ichigo held out his hand; he could feel both the man's and his own reiatsu rising. There was a soft tickling feeling in the palm of his outstretched hand, and out of the corner of his eye Ichigo caught a glimpse of condensing reishi.

"Shout my name." The man continued.

Ichigo felt both their reiatsu surge to new heights and suddenly he knew. He knew who the man was. He knew his zanpakuto's name. All he needed to do now was say it aloud.

"Shout," both Ichigo and the man screamed in unison, "Zangetsu!"

Before the echoes of their shout had faded the man, Zangetsu Ichigo now knew, was back on the flagpole and a giant cleaver of a sword was in Ichigo's hand. He let his eyes run up the curve of the blade and realized that, as it had formed, it had bit deeply into the hollow's shifting flesh. Ichigo pulled Zangetsu roughly out of the hollow and watched as the beast quivered for a moment and then collapsed.

All of the color seemed to drain out of its body and it shrunk as Ichigo watched through fading senses. Before he became completely unaware, he saw the now white, man-sized body shudder.

* * *

"Isshin." Kisuke greeted from his seat in his shop, dropping any false joviality he might have had. He could tell Isshin, unsurprisingly, wasn't in the mood for it.

"You said you had news of Ichigo." Isshin prompted as he sat across from Kisuke.

"Yes. I got Yoruichi into Soul Society about two weeks ago and she's sent word back to me."

"Sent word? You mean she's still there?" Isshin asked.

"Yes. I'll tell you why later." Kisuke said before Isshin could interrupt again. "She told me Ichigo was in the Academy, he's in his third year and doing well.

"Before I can say any more, Isshin, I need to ask you something. Why did you leave Ichigo when the hollow attacked you?"

"I had to save Karin and Yuzu." Isshin said, acting completely opposite his usual happy demeanor.

"There's more to it than that." Kisuke said calmly.

"Isn't there always?"

"Part of it was saving Yuzu and Karin." Isshin began when Kisuke said nothing. "I couldn't help him myself, this damn gigai takes too long to get out of, and Ryuuken and I both sensed a Shinigami on the way. Your dealings aside, there are still standing orders to kill traitors on sight, and I couldn't deal with that and the hollow in a gigai.

"You said Ryuuken was there?"

"Yeah, he was, but he couldn't do much without doing something the shinigami would take as threatening and he has Uryû to think of no matter how they treat each other."

"Understandable." Kisuke said. Both traitors knew how hair-triggered Seireitei was in concern with the few remaining Quincy. "Any other reasons?"

"Yeah," Isshin said after a bit of thought, "I don't think I consciously realized it then, but, from what I remember of his reiatsu, his shinigami powers were manifesting. I trusted him to hold out until the shinigami showed up to escort him to Soul Society."

"Thank you, Isshin, you've confirmed my theory."

"Theory?"

"First you need to know some things. I had Yoruichi get into the Twelfth Division's Records Database. The hollow that attacked your clinic was purified. But, according to their report, the shinigami present did not purify it.

"The report stated that an injured soul was found and transported to the Seireitei, the soul mentioned is Ichigo.

"Before I had reason to suspect Ichigo purified the hollow. Now that you've told me his powers were manifesting you've confirmed my thoughts."

"And they are?"

"If your son purified the hollow with a Zanpakuto he would not have been reported as a normal soul. So, his powers weren't fully manifested.

"He purified the hollow without a Zanpakuto to disperse the hollow's essence away from him."

"Shit." Isshin said after a moment.

"That's why Yoruichi is still there."

* * *

Rukia breathed deeply as she walked down the familiar tree lined path towards the Academy. She felt out of place among the few students that were out in her Shihakusho.

She was content; she had managed to convince Sentaro and Kiyone to let her observe the Advanced Class's lessons. Kido was the only class that she looked forward to, but it would be amusing to watch the other lessons.

"Ah, Kuchiki-san!"

Rukia turned and saw the fifth division Captain, Aizen Sôsuke, waving at her companionably.

"Why are you here?" He asked once he caught up with her. "I was expecting Ukitake-san."

"Ukitake-taichou's illness has been worsening as of recently, and Sentaro-san and Kiyone-san have been dealing with the extra paperwork so the job fell to me."

"Well that's too bad for Ukitake-san, give him my best wishes when you see him next."

"I will."

They walked together in friendly silence until Rukia gathered the courage to speak.

"You're here to observe the Third Year Advanced Class?"

"Yes," Aizen said with a smile, "don't worry, I won't take all the good ones for my division."

Rukia nearly said something else, but by then they'd reached the Academy building.

* * *

When Ichigo next opened his eyes he saw the ceiling of the Academy's infirmary, a place he'd become intimately familiar with during the first half of his Zanjutsu classes. He was in the process of sitting up when Shinsetsu, one of the two Fourth Division nurses, came in.

"Good to see you're finally up, Kurosaki." She said as she began writing on her clipboard.

"How long was I out?" Ichigo asked, rubbing a sore spot on the back of his head.

"Over a day."

"Damn, what happened?"

"From what I heard," Shinsetsu said as she continued to write, "You got up in halfway through the class, manifested your Zanpakuto without an Asauchi, and then collapsed. Here." She handed Ichigo a note. "This will get you back into class; it's the beginning of fourth block right now. Oh, and after class you need to get your Zanpakuto from Yamoda's classroom, Burei tried to move it and it mangled his ram. If I'm lucky someone else will get assigned here."

When Shinsetsu was done talking Ichigo left. He was in no hurry, his fourth block class was Kido, the one thing he'd never been able to get the hang of.

Even though he walked slowly Ichigo reached the classroom all too soon. He gave his note to the teacher who glared hatefully at him without looking silly despite the fact that her black hair was done up tightly in buns on either side of her head.

"Well, Kurosaki, since you're late," She held her hand up as Ichigo began to protest, "I'll tell you my ground rules.

"My name is Manami Ume; you will call me Manami-sensei, nothing else, no exceptions. You follow what I tell you and not only will you not blow yourself up, we'll get along. You don't do as I say, well, I'm not responsible for what happens. Now sit down."

The only seat left was between Crosser, openly afraid of the teacher, and Akiko, who seemed bored. As soon as Ichigo sat down Manami continued her speech.

"All you guys really need to know is that shinigami from two divisions are going to be observing you. Perform well and you could get a reserved seat in one of them. I expect you to try not to screw up too badly. Now follow me to the practice fields."

The Kido practice fields were located just outside of the building the classroom was in, so they didn't have very far to walk. During the short time they were walking both Crosser and Akiko kept sending Ichigo curious looks but the glares Manami sent them kept them quiet. The field itself was very similar to an archery field with an area to stand and cast Kido from and moveable targets that were currently fifty yards away. The class sat down, still quiet, and waited while Manami talked with the two Gotei division representatives. When she finished she began calling names and once they finished the students sat at the opposite end of the firing range.

Ichigo, like the rest of the class, sat quietly, but unlike everyone else he was trying to get a glimpse of the two representatives.

When his name was called, Ichigo stood and walked slowly to the spot he was to launch his Kido from. On his way he saw the representatives standing next to Manami. One was obviously a Captain, with his white coat, he had shaggy brown hair and thick framed glasses but otherwise he seemed fairly unremarkable. The other was a short girl with dark hair, she seemed bored and had no visible mark of rank.

"Stop gawking, Kurosaki." Manami said loudly.

Ichigo stopped looking and finished walking to the firing range. The Kido they were casting was a simple offensive spell, usually meant as a distraction instead of a true attack.

Hand in front of him, Ichigo began condensing as much reiatsu in his palm as he could.

"Brought by four wheels, two horses, and eight hands; a spark, a flash in the night. Hadou no Ichi: Shiro Bakuhatsu!" Ichigo recited and launched the reiatsu in his hand.

It only hit the edge of the target and exploded with less force than it should have, but it was still better than some of his earlier attempts in his second year. Ichigo hadn't blown himself up.

Ichigo was about to sit down when the brown haired Captain grabbed his shoulder.

"You have a lot of potential, Kurosaki-kun. Don't be too hard on yourself."

The other representative said nothing, and Ichigo sat down and watched his remaining classmates.

**_Notes_**

--/4l\l&37\-ll- I mangled Zangetsu's name into some mangled l33t. Not all of it stayed, DAMN YOU QUICK EDIT!

-Hadou no Ichi: Shiro Bakuhatsu-i made it up. literally Destructive Spell the First: White Explosion. If you wanna you can borrow it, I just needed a basic attack spell of a lower level than Sokatsui.

Another chapter done! This hasn't been beta'd yet but I've spent so long writing it that I wanted it up ASAP. I'll post a beta'd version once i can get ahold of Miggrator.

EXTREME thank yous to those of you who reviewed EVEN THOUGH I DIDN'T ASK: Wild Dragon's breath, UNTensaZangetsu, Artificial Life Creator, Xstarlight-dragonX, sandcat, Gabriella Silverwood, Dark Inu Fan, and superninjamonkey

Next Chapter! Ichigo and Rukia (finally) meet, and the Hollow starts mouthing off!

**_Answers_**

-Wild Dragon's breath: I skipped only two years ahead, as stated in this chapter, but I wasn't very specific so I can understand your confusion.

-UNTensaZangetsu: More questions!? I'm not sure if I love all the questions or not! lol. Yep, Ichi probably will be better in the long run, in cannon he picked things up as he went, but now he knows the basics behind the techniques so he should be able to use them better, although he doesn't know anything more than the fundamentals right now. And Ichigo will be learning at least some of the hollow techniques as well. I'm not sure if Chad and Orihime will get their powers or not yet, but I can't give them to Ichi as they are not his powers. In canon he only gave Chad and Orihime the jump start they needed to manifest their powers, like a car with jumper cables. Uryû is a definite maybe, as well as Grimmjow. Aizen has had two extra years to scheme and while he doesn't have the hyougoku yet the histories of the arrancar that have been shown already makes me think he'd been able to successfully create SOME arrancar or that they came about naturally. So conceivably Grimmjow could be an arrancar, though I don't think he'll be more then an adjucas if he shows in this story. I can't say much about Aizens plans, and I DO NOT WANT to put in any filler, OAV, or movie characters into this story. The only modsoul that has any chance of showing is Kon, poor guy's probably been stuck in Urahara's shop this whole time.

-Xstarlight-dragonX: I'll show the reactions of the people in the living world when Ichi shows up there, wait that was a spoiler, don't listen! Chad and Orihime were already high-spirit beings in the first few volumes before Uryû and his shenanigans so it is possible that they could, whether they do or not I haven't decided yet.

THANKYOU FOR READING, PLEASE REVIEW! I have anonymous reviews enabled, you have no excuse!


	4. You and Your Kind, Step Back!

If And When We Rise

Chapter 04: You and Your Kind, Step Back!

Bakageta

'_You stand before me, I will defeat you;_

_You will not break me, I will not take you._

_You're just another unearthly poison_

_Someone will stop you;_

_You and your kind, step back!'_

_--The Aquabats!, 'Powdered Milk Man'_

**Reviewer response is at the end of the chapter.**

"Woah…" Crosser gaped in awe of the sword stuck six inches into the Zanpakuto Classroom's floor. "I-it's huge…"

"Sure is," Akiko sniggered, "ya' think he's compensating?"

"Shut. The hell. Up." Ichigo ground out as he struggled to free Zangetsu without doing too much damage to the floor.

"Aww, someone's touchy."

Ichigo just glared.

There was a long awkward pause during which the only sound was of Ichigo trying different ways of pulling his Zanpakuto out of the floor.

"So, what's its name?" Crosser ventured, breaking the silence.

"Zangetsu." Ichigo replied. "Think it would come out if I wiggled it?"

"Maybe." Akiko said, obviously fighting back laughter.

"You're disgusting." Ichigo said as he shifted the giant blade back and forth. It became looser and looser until Ichigo was able to wrest it from the floor with one last tug. Now that Zangetsu was free, Ichigo rested the blade's tip on an undamaged place on the floor and looked his Zanpakuto over. It looked exactly like it had in his dream (though Ichigo was fairly certain that it hadn't truly been a dream) and, unsurprisingly, the blade hadn't been even slightly damaged.

"Wow…" Akiko breathed, finally impressed.

"Ichigo?" Crosser asked. "How are you gonna sheathe it?"

"Why would I need to do that?"

"'Unless Wartime Exceptions are in place, all Zanpakuto must be kept sheathed when inside both the Seireitei and Rukongai.'" Crosser quoted.

"Wait, ya' actually memorized the laws?" Akiko asked incredulously.

"Only part of them!" Crosser said defensively.

"That doesn't help." Akiko said, shaking her head.

"Shut up." Ichigo commanded suddenly. "I think I figured out what to do."

They all watched as Ichigo gathered a little reiatsu into his sword's hilt. At first this seemed to accomplish nothing, until they noticed that the cloth that extended from Zangetsu's pommel was slowly lengthening and winding protectively around the sword's blade. In less than a minute the cloth drew tight and stopped moving.

"Wow…" Crosser muttered redundantly.

"Yeah, I think that's been established." Akiko said rolling her eyes. "So the sheathe thing's been solved, but how're ya' gonna carry that thing?"

"Like this." Ichigo said, hefting Zangetsu over his right shoulder and onto his back where it somehow hung from a red leather chain reminiscent of vertebrae.

"Where in hell did ya'— Y'know what? I don't care. Yer just too weird." Akiko said throwing her hands up.

Ichigo rolled his eyes and Crosser just stared.

"Kurosaki Ichigo?" A voice called out.

Ichigo turned and saw the female division representative from before standing in the classroom's doorway.

"Kuchiki Rukia, Thirteenth Division.' She introduced herself as she approached Ichigo. "I'd like to speak with you, alone."

Akiko and Crosser both followed the thinly veiled instruction to leave, Akiko mouthing something about 'lucky bastard' as she left.

"So what do you want?" Ichigo asked when he turned his attention back to Rukia.

"You suck at Kido." She said bluntly.

"W-what!?" Ichigo spluttered angrily. He knew Rukia was right about his Kido ability. His demonstration in class had been a fluke, but that didn't mean he would admit it out loud.

"It's true, I saw earlier."

"I did better than some of those guys!" Ichigo said indignantly.

"Yeah, you did, on the surface at least. But," she said in a superior tone, "to someone who knows Kido, you did almost as badly as the guy who set himself on fire."

"And I guess you're one of those people who 'know Kido'?"

"I am."

"How wonderful for you. What does this have to do with me?"

"I'm offering to tutor you in Kido."

"No." Ichigo answered immediately. He'd never really seen the point of Kido. It was nearly useless in battle unless you could bypass the incantation, but if you could do that then it was likely that you were strong enough to beat your opponent without Kido. Ichigo was the kind of person who would rather hit someone than recite poetry at them.

"Of course that would—" Rukia suddenly stopped, surprised. Then her expression darkened ominously. "What do you mean 'No'?"

"I mean," Ichigo said, walking closer to Rukia so he could look down at her, "that I don't need any tutoring."

"Well," Rukia said glaring back up at him, "that's odd because _I_ say you do."

"I say I don't. And, besides, I don't see how I could learn anything from someone so _short_."

"What did you say!?" Rukia demanded.

"You are sh—" Ichigo started to say, but Rukia punched him viciously in his gut before he could finish. He fell to the floor from the unexpected pain; it felt like he'd been stabbed. Ichigo slowly sat up, clutching his stomach and trying not to cause himself any more pain.

"I suppose this means I'll see you for your first lesson on Monday, right, Kurosaki-kun?" Rukia asked innocently as she left.

* * *

"Ya' called fer me, Aizen-taicho?" Ichimaru Gin asked as he approached his former captain in the Fifth Division's garden.

"I did." Aizen confirmed. He left a long pause before he spoke again. "I believe I've found a solution to our problem."

"Th' Hyogyoku?" Gin asked.

"Yes." Aizen answered and started walking down one of the gardens many paths. Five minutes later Aizen spoke again.

"Did you know, Gin, that there is a Vaizard in the Academy?"

Gin's eyebrows rose into his bangs. "Really now?"

"Yes. I felt his reiatsu; it's there, just barely. His name is Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Y'mean _Kurosaki_ Kurosaki?"

"He's the spitting image of his mother." Aizen said with a benign grin.

"Kid like tha' has gotta have some connections." Gin said.

"Of course, especially considering his father."

"S' too bad 'bout him bein' a Vaizard n'all, one slip up an' biff! He's done. But a' least he's got friends who could help 'im."

"Friends," Aizen added, "Who most likely already know about his… issue, and are waiting in the wings to spirit him away.

"All we would need to do is follow."

"I'll set up th' Kido, Aizen-taicho." Gin said easily. "I got one question, tho'."

"Yes?"

"Why would a person like Urahara be interested in lil' Kurosaki-kun when he could let Hirako an' his people take care of 'im?"

"He wouldn't." Aizen answered. "Unless there was a need for it."

"So…?"

"It's likely Urahara plans to use Ichigo to destroy the Hyogyoku."

Gin raised a questioning eyebrow.

"One should never underestimate the energy created when two opposing forces struggle against each other."

They walked in silence for another few minutes before each captain returned to his respective division.

* * *

Ichigo stretched lazily before rolling over to keep the sun from hitting him in the face. It was Monday again, and the rest of his class still had Zanpakuto class. He'd spent the rest of the week with Crosser 

and Akiko. They were similar to Keigo and Mizuiro in their ability to include him in things he didn't really want to be included in, and the two of them had dragged him out to Rukongai to shop and visit Crosser's father.

By the time they'd finished for the day it was late and instead of walking for two hours to get back to their beds at the Academy they spent their remaining money on a small hotel room. They were too tired to do much more than slip into their respective futons and chat before falling asleep. The three had traded stories of their pasts, though Ichigo never went into much detail.

The next day they'd returned to the Academy and had spent the rest of the day working on the few assignments they'd received in class.

Ichigo was drifting off to sleep with thoughts of his weekend when a voice dragged him back to consciousness.

"You're late, Kurosaki. Wake up."

Ichigo cracked his eyes open and was greeted by the angry face of the Shinigami, Rukia he thought her name was, from Tuesday.

"How can I be late when I don't have any classes?" He asked groggily.

"Oh, but you do." Rukia said, the grin on her face was almost evil as she handed Ichigo a sheet of paper.

It took a few moments for Ichigo's sleep fogged mind to understand what he was seeing, but when he finally comprehended it he was furious. It was class schedule with Ichigo's name on it and under the heading of Monday, instead of a blank space, was neat handwriting that read: 'Kido tutoring'.

"Bitch!" Ichigo shouted as he leapt out of bed. "You changed my damn schedule!"

"What did you call me?!" Rukia demanded.

"Bi-t-ch." Ichigo sounded out the word slowly.

Nearly immediately Rukia lashed out with her foot and kicked him in his face. Ichigo was left dazed and, when he regained his awareness , he found himself on the floor held in an arm lock by Rukia.

"Now that that's done," Rukia dug her knee into the small of Ichigo's back, "I'll see you at the Kido Practice Hall in ten minutes. If you don't come on your own, I will drag you there." She exited suddenly with a flash step, leaving Ichigo on the floor.

Ichigo stood up and slammed the door, if only for effect, and quickly got dressed. He hadn't thought the Shinigami had been serious about the tutoring but that didn't change the fact that he didn't want the lessons. Why was she so insistent about giving him lessons? The only answer Ichigo could come up with was that her division was desperate for new recruits.

Nine minutes later Ichigo was dressed in his uniform and had arrived in the Practice Hall. As its name implied, the Practice Hall was a large room. Its walls were a dull stone color, made of the reiatsu blocking Seki-seki Stone, and it had a very high ceiling. Rukia was standing near the other end of the hall.

"Fire the first destructive spell." Rukia called out after Ichigo had shut the door.

"Why?"

"I need to remind myself of exactly how you suck at Kido."

Ichigo glared but otherwise complied, gathering reiatsu in his palm and aiming at one of the many targets that were attached to the gray stone walls.

"Brought by four wheels, two horses, and eight hands; a spark, a flash in the night. Hadou no Ichi: Shiro Bakuhatsu!" Ichigo shouted as he launched the Kido.

It missed the target and exploded weakly on the wall next to it.

There was a long pause. Ichigo was glaring at Rukia, silently daring her to say something mocking.

"I know what your problem is." Rukia said. "All the reiatsu that you gather to power the Kido, you let it leak. You let more than half of the reiatsu you gather to power it dissipate after you have it, that's why you suck."

"Wonderful." Ichigo grumbled. "What now?"

"You need to practice gathering and maintaining a set amount of reiatsu. Once you can do that you shouldn't have any problems."

"Fine." Ichigo said and immediately began gathering reiatsu. The sooner he was able to maintain reiatsu the sooner he would be able to sleep in on Mondays. Ichigo gathered a small ball of reiatsu in his palm but almost as soon as it had formed it began disintegrating. He noticed and gathered more.

"Stop." Rukia commanded. "Don't get more. Try to keep a hold of what you do have."

Ichigo glared at her. He could tell that the day was going to drag.

Hours later they hadn't made much progress. Early on in the training, Ichigo's issues with reiatsu manipulation had shown up. He'd become so absorbed in concentrating on his reiatsu that he'd fall back on his habits and let reiatsu dissipate before replacing it instead of holding it. When this happened Rukia would usually have to hit him before he'd become aware of her.

"I don't get why you have such a big issue with reiatsu control." Rukia said conversationally during their lunch break. She hadn't allowed Ichigo to leave the Kido Hall, saying that he wouldn't be distracted if he didn't leave.

"All the other instructors said it was because I have too much." Ichigo said in between mouthfuls of his lunch. He didn't resent Rukia as much as he had at the beginning of the day. While it was true that she was an annoying, arrogant midget it was also true that she had helped him more than any of his other Kido teachers had.

"May I see?" Rukia asked, holding out her hand.

"See what?" Ichigo asked with rice in his mouth.

"Your reiraku."

"Sure."

Rukia closed the fingers of her outstretched hand and slowly a broad red ribbon appeared trailing away from her hand and to Ichigo's chest. Her eyes widened.

"This is at least as much as a Vice-Captain…" Rukia said unbelievingly.

"So?"

Rukia looked from Ichigo to the reiraku in her hand before letting the ribbon fade away. "You are an idiot."

"What! Why?!"

"Because I said so. Now finish up, so we can get back to work."

* * *

Ichigo fell asleep almost as soon as he got into his bed and no amount of curious nagging and poking from Crosser could wake him.

That was the night that he first had what would later become a recurring nightmare.

He was in the sideways world where he'd fought the shifting hollow and had found the name of his Zanpakuto, it was almost the same except for the weather. The sky was filled with dark clouds that flashed soundlessly with heat lightning.

In the nightmare he was being chased, though he didn't know who or what was chasing him, whenever he looked back there was nothing behind him. Soon after the beginning Zangetsu appeared and ran at his side.

"Don't be afraid Ichigo." He said looking towards his bearer while he ran. "He can never win. Place your trust in me and I will always be strong enough. Trust me even if your sight is clouded."

They ran side by side until Zangetsu suddenly disappeared. Ichigo looked back over his shoulder, there was still nothing there. Ichigo kept running his fear building irrationally as time passed.

"Why're ya runnin', Partner?" A distorted voice whispered in his ear. "You can never out run me and you know it."

Ichigo skid to a stop and searched frantically for the source of the voice.

"What'cha lookin' for? I'm right here." The voice said.

Ichigo turned towards the voice and froze when he saw the speaker. It was a caricature of him, bleached white and wearing inverted Shihakusho, both its mouth and eyes were black. It stepped forward and Ichigo took a step backwards.

"Ah… a reaction like that!" It said, baring black teeth in a grin. "I'd almost think ya were afraid of me!" Then it dashed forward.

Ichigo ran. The rest of his nightmare was spent on the run. Occasionally it would catch up to him and strike out at him, but it would never knock him down. It acted like a predator that had all the time in the world to play with and tire its prey before it went in for the kill.

_**Author's Notes!**_

First of a big thanks to Miggrator who waited patiently for me to finish so she could beta!

This is the BIGGEST chapter I've written at 8 pages in MS Word with a word count of 2674 words before author's note. All I can say is don't always expect this kind of thing.

In the next chapter: another time-jump, a festival, a Hollow attack, and a troubling occurrence!

So, what with the festival... I would love IDEAS and SUGGESTIONS for it. If you have any, tell me and I'll try to fit them in. Any ideas used will be credited to whoever came up with them. You can leave them in a review or send them to me in a note.

THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING: Animelvr (anon), Kandei, SplitToInfinity, Icewind Alchemist, Shakugan no Shana, MysteriousEyez, lordofkightmares, Silvercrystal.ct, Dark Inu Fan, Hiryuu Tei (anon), Artificial Life Creator, Unsane Chibi (aka: Miggrator), Wild Dragon's breath, sandcat, and UNTensaZangetsu

**_Review Response_**

UNTensaZangetsu: I don't wanna talk too much about the Hollow and how that works as it's a vital plot bit, and I don't want to spoil anything... But as for Aizen's interest in Ichigo, it's because he believes that Urahara is going to use him to destroy the Hyogyoku. My opinion on Ichigo's growth is that he needs a reason to get stronger (i.e. save Rukia's ass, protect people, ect...) and so far in this story he hasn't had a reason to reach for the rediculous amounts of strength he has in canon. But of course, what kind of author would I be if I didn't give him a reason?

Wild Dragon's breath: Yes, he will get his crazy reiatsu levels back, in fact he already has crazy reiatsu levels compared to the other students. Yes, compared to canon he is weak right now, but this is only because he had no reason to become ridiculously strong. He will get a reason soon enough. As for Hichigo... I said no pairings, and I will stick to no pairings! If the relationship changes at all it will be more towards tolerance instead of resentment and constant take over attempts. Of course if the change happens it won't happen immediately.

lordofkightmares: I have my theory on the way hollows work that explains how everything happened, and it will be explained later, because I don't want to spoil things to much. I will tell you that you'll find out when Yoruichi shows up again. I'd have to say that so far your review is my favorite! So many good questions that I can't answer yet!

Shakugan no Shana: Ichigo probably won't learn much Kido, and that is mostly because of my personal tastes. Given any RPG game I will focus on my party's physical/melee attacks. But Ichigo will at least know more Kido than in canon.

Thank you for reading! Please REVIEW, it lets me know what you think about my story and gives me a reason to write more faster. I have ANONYMOUS REVIEWS ENABLED so you can review even if you don't have an account or are too lazy to log in. I don't even mind if you copypaste 'Good Job' or 'Great Story'


	5. The Party is Booming

If And When We Rise

Chapter 05: The Party is Booming

Bakageta

"_People in the room doing boom like it's never been done,  
Bust a move it's just the kick-boom of a gun.  
In the marquee the bass is booming,  
Someone's smoking boom in da back of da room,  
And it's the first day of Boom, the flowers are blooming.  
Drum Boom bass and the party is booming;  
Boom-ba-boom like a rocket taking off to da moon,  
Boom-boom, like a bride and groom."_

_--'Boom', Flight of the Conchords_

**Reviewer Response is at the end of the chapter.

* * *

**

After six weeks of tutoring, Ichigo was able to maintain the small ball of reiatsu for nearly a minute and a half. He could deal with larger amount of reiatsu as well, though for less time. There was still an issue over Ichigo's inability to focus on other things while manipulating his reiatsu, but even that had improved, though not nearly as much as Ichigo wished it would.

Absently, Ichigo wondered why Rukia put so much effort into training him. They'd never met before, and in the month and a half of weekly training he'd learned that none of the Gotei Thirteen Squads were particularly desperate for new members, even if they were near the top of the Academy's advanced class. So there was no reason for her to be interested in him particularly. Unless, Ichigo thought, she had a personal reason.

"Pay attention!" Rukia shouted.

Ichigo looked down and with a small amount of trepidation realized that the reiatsu in his hand had begun spiraling out of control. He didn't have nearly enough skill to bring it back under his control, so he shoved the energy away. The concentrated reiatsu flew a few feet before dissipating violently, though the absorptive seki-seki walls limited the damage to a few scratches on the floor.

"Idiot." She pronounced. "I've told you not to let your concentration slip."

"Yeah, well, you should have warned me earlier." Ichigo said brushing dust off of his blue student's hakama.

"If I did that," Rukia said, glaring, "you wouldn't learn anything."

"I can't learn anything if I'm—"

"Oi! Sorry to interrupt!" Akiko shouted as she slammed the Practice Hall's door open, cutting Ichigo off. "But, Kuchiki-san, Crosser and I were wonderin' if ya could let Kurosaki off early today so we could go to the Setsubun Festival?"

"What?!" Crosser shouted shrilly from somewhere behind Akiko. "Don't drag me into this!"

"Stop bitching!" Akiko said over her shoulder, then back to Rukia. "We wanted to enter in the tournament, and we figured since he's been working so hard you'd let Kurosaki have a break."

There was a tense pause while Rukia considered. Ichigo had heard of the festival's tournament, though he wasn't sure if he'd enter. Now it seemed that he would get out of his tutoring early, and, if all he had to do was fight in a tournament, it would be worth it.

"If he can perform the first Hadou, then I will allow Ichigo to compete in the tournament." Rukia said.

"Hell yeah!" Akiko said, clenching her fist. Then she turned expectantly to Ichigo. "Hurry up, the sooner you do the stupid kido the sooner we can put our names in!"

"Yeah, yeah… you're impatient." Ichigo grumbled.

Ichigo began to gather his reiatsu into his palm, careful not to let any of the energy slip out of his grasp. In a few moments he had enough to power the kido, and, after reciting the tiny bit of poetry that served as an incantation, launched it at a nearby target. It wasn't very spectacular, and hit off center, but, technique-wise, it was leagues better than his attempts a month and a half earlier.

Crossing his arms and smirking, Ichigo asked, "I can go now?"

"Yes, I expect you won't shame yourself in the tournament?" Rukia answered.

"Huh?"

"She means: don't screw up." Akiko said impatiently before grabbing a hold of Ichigo's arm and dragging him out of the Practice Hall. "Now c'mon, we ain't got all day."

* * *

An hour later, Ichigo was walking through the streets of Rukongai's Twenty-second District with Akiko and Crosser alongside him. It was barely past two and the festival's stands had already been lining the streets for hours, vendors shouting their wares and games to the few people who were out.

"Where are we going again?" Ichigo asked for at least the fourth time.

Akiko didn't answer, she was too busy glancing around and grumbling about poor directions to hear anything anyone said.

"Crosser," Ichigo said drawing his friend's attention away from one of the many festival game stands, "you know where we're going?"

"Yeah, the tournament registration desk. I've never actually been in the tournament, though, so I don't really know where it is."

"In other words, you're not much help."

"Not really. I don't like fighting too much; I usually only come to these things for the vendors and the kingyo-sukui." Crosser admitted.

"Goldfish-scooping?" Ichigo asked incredulously as they passed a fried food stand for the third time.

"Yeah, it's a surprisingly strategic game—"

"There it is!" Akiko shouted, cutting Crosser off. She grabbed both Ichigo and Crosser by their wrists and dragged them towards a plain looking stand hidden between a pair of gaudy food stalls. She stopped abruptly in front of the table underneath the stand's awning causing Ichigo and Crosser to barge into it and nearly knock the entire setup over.

"We wanna sign up for the tournament." Akiko announced loudly after the table had settled back on to all of its legs.

The scruffy man sitting behind the table looked up from the magazine he'd been reading throughout the scene Akiko had caused.

"Really? I never woulda' guessed." He said dryly as he looked them over. "Yer Academy students… What year?"

"Third." Akiko answered immediately.

"O-kay then." He turned and dug out a few sheets of paper from under the chair he'd previously occupied. "As a formality I need to check to see if you've got enough reiatsu. Take these papers and put some energy into 'em, if they turn black you can enter."

Akiko and Ichigo both took a piece of paper and, with more than a little concentration on Ichigo's part, focused their reiatsu into them. Almost immediately both of the papers turned jet black.

"Great. Now just fill out these release forms and yer done." The man said, then he noticed that Crosser had yet to do anything with the reiatsu test paper. "You havin' issues kid? 'S not that hard, just concentrate on the paper."

"Ah, err… no… I'm not having trouble, I'm just not entering." Crosser said, staring at his feet.

"What!?" Akiko, who'd been quietly filling out the release form, shouted. "What d'you mean you're not entering!?"

"I don't really like fighting people…"

"Lemme get this straight," Akiko said, staring at Crosser, "yer' a Shinigami, but you don't like fighting."

"It's not like that… it's more—"

"Whatever." Akiko cut Crosser off. "I just have to wonder why I seem to attract only weird people…"

"I'm not weird!" Crosser said indignantly.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say."

"Hey," Ichigo said looking up from his nearly completed release forms, "if you morons can hurry up, I need to go back by the Academy and get Zangetsu."

"They allow Zanpakuto?" Crosser asked skeptically.

"There's no rule saying that they can't be used, and it's not like any of the Rukongai fighters are going to be unarmed."

"Kurosaki," Akiko said with a grin, "I like the way you think."

* * *

Ichigo barely even had to shift his weight as he used Zangetsu to block his opponent's ill-made Rukongai katana. It was the middle of the second match and, so far, Ichigo hadn't even needed to undo Zangetsu's cloth wrapping.

As his opponent drew his sword back for another strike Ichigo swung Zangetsu and missed. The other man's face split into a grin as he realized that Ichigo had left himself wide open. Ichigo realized this at almost the same time and instead of panicking allowed Zangetsu's centrifugal force to spin him in a circle.

The other man swore as he missed Ichigo who, still spinning, allowed Zangetsu's covered blade to slam into the man's side. Ichigo couldn't suppress a cocky grin as he watched as his opponent was flung backwards over the fighting ring's boundary line, hitting the ground with a satisfying thud.

"Ring out!" The referee shouted over the cheers and shouts of the crowd. "Winner: Kurosaki Ichigo! Next Match: Osamu Akiko versus Noburu Haru!"

As Ichigo left the ring he passed Akiko on the way in. She flashed him a confident grin even as she was anxiously fingering the hilt of her Zanpakuto. This was her first match as she had gotten a bye into the second round as there had been an odd number of entrants, and she was obviously nervous. It also didn't help that her opponent was another Academy student, though he wasn't in uniform so Ichigo couldn't tell what year he was in.

As evidenced by her Zanpakuto's changed guard, Akiko knew her sword's name. Ichigo was curious and wondered if she would release it in this match, but he figured she wouldn't want to display such a good trump card so soon in the tournament.

Both Akiko and her opponent, Haru, were warily circling each other, each trying to judge the other's strengths. The referee was taking his sweet time starting the match, Ichigo thought. The he noticed that the referee was staring, dumbfounded, at the sky. Ichigo followed the man's gaze, wondering what had distracted him from the match.

There were cracks forming slowly and constantly in the sky.

"Crosser?" Ichigo asked, elbowing his friend who had managed to get a seat directly on the sidelines. "There are cracks in the sky."

"What?" Crosser asked incredulously.

"There." Ichigo pointed and Crosser followed his gesture.

"T-that can't be happening…" Crosser said as he watched the cracks spread. "That only happens when Menos Grande cross planes… And Hollows haven't encroached on Soul Society since…" Crosser trailed off as the crack began to widen, white fingers slipping out to help pry it open.

By now everyone was staring stupidly at the sky, though only those who'd had Academy training and a few of the more experienced Rukongai souls knew what they were looking at.

"You have your Zanpakuto, right?" Ichigo asked.

"Y-yeah." Crosser replied. "I thought that if I brought it I wouldn't get mugged or pick pocketed or something."

"Good, we're gonna need all the firepower we can get."

"Wait! You can't seriously think we're going to stand a chance in a fight against these things!"

"Probably not, but we have to hold out 'til a captain or someone like that gets here. Otherwise all these people are gonna die." Ichigo said as pale white masks began appearing.

One by one the Menos began emerging and as they did so someone screamed, shocking the other people out of their fear induced dazes and into a terrified stampede to anywhere other than where they currently were.

"This is just goddamn depressing." A gruff voice said.

Ichigo and Crosser immediately turned away from the crack spewing forth Menos toward the ring where the voice had come from. In the center was what looked like a large white panther. It was standing on top of Noburu Haru looking around not taking any notice of Akiko who was plastered on the ground in front of it from the force of its reiatsu. The referee had fled with the spectators.

"I thought there was supposed to be someone here who could actually fight worth a shit." The panther grumbled as it continued to look around.

"I don't know what you are," Ichigo shouted out causing the panther to focus its attention on him, "but get the hell out of Soul Society!"

"It talks." The panther observed and Ichigo would have sworn it was chuckling.

Ichigo felt his ear pop as the panther's reiatsu washed violently over him. He looked to Crosser who was struggling to just remain standing in the backwash of reiatsu.

"Go get help."

"N-no… You'll be… killed." Crosser said with effort.

"I won't." Ichigo said, completely certain, though he couldn't say why.

"But!"

"If you don't go get help, who's gonna come and scrape me off of the ground when this is over?"

"Fine…" Crosser agreed and then left, though not without one last worried glance back at his roommate.

"You didn't want your little friend to see you get killed?" The panther asked, watching Ichigo with predatory interest.

Ichigo glared.

"Oh well." It said. "That just means I'll have to hunt him down when I'm done with you."

* * *

Though she hated to admit it, Rukia was lost. She hadn't been to any festivals since she'd been adopted into the Kuchiki family and even before then the ones she'd been to hadn't come anywhere near the size of the Twenty-second district's Setsubun festival. It also didn't help that, despite the flashing lights and bright colors of the individual stands, all the stands had managed to blend together into a giant blur.

She had meant to get to the tournament to watch Ichigo's matches. Rukia only saw him at their tutoring sessions, and, no matter how many times she denied it to herself, Rukia wanted to see how closely Ichigo matched her memories of Kaien. She already knew he was just as stubborn, if not more so.

Rukia remembered the warning Ukitake-taichou had given her when he'd found out where she went when she took off Mondays. Instead of telling her to stop like she halfway expected him to, he'd simply told her not to force her memories of Kaien on him. Rukia had agreed, as similar as Ichigo was to Kaien they were still different people, though that didn't stop them from being eerily similar to each other.

But right now none of that mattered. Because she was lost.

Sighing, Rukia began to entertain thoughts of asking for directions, it was starting to look more and more like it would be worth the damage her pride would suffer.

"Ah! Kuchiki-san! This is almost the last place I'd expect to see you!" Rukia heard a familiar voice call out. She turned and was immediately greeted by the sight of a more cheerful than usual Aizen Sôsuke followed by the man that always made her shiver internally with irrational fear, Ichimaru Gin.

"I'm surprised th' Kuchiki let ya' outta their little glass castle." Gin said, grinning as always.

"I am allowed to go where I wish in my free time, Ichimaru-taichou." Rukia responded politely.

"I s'pose that makes sense."

"Still," Aizen added, "this hardly seems like the kind of place a noble of your stature would go to for entertainment."

"I wished to see the tournament." Rukia said, hoping to get both directions and an easy excuse to escape from Gin's presence. "I'd heard about it, and it seemed like an interesting chance to view the fighting styles of others. However, I seem to have gotten lost."

"This festival is so large that I can't really blame you." Aizen said with a kind smile. "The tournament grounds are right over th…" Aizen trailed off in shock after he pointed to the general location of the tournament.

Rukia turned in the direction Aizen had indicated just in time to see the Menos Grande emerging from the sky.

"Kuchiki-san," Aizen said, nervously pushing his glasses higher up on the bridge of his nose, "I'm going to have to ask you to tell Yamamoto-sou-taichou what's happening."

Rukia almost refused, Ichigo was over there and she was sure the idiot would be throwing himself headlong into the fight without any thought to those around him. But she saw another Menos emerging and the worried look on Aizen's face. She knew enough to be able to tell that she would only get in the way if she followed the two captains into the fight.

"Yes, Aizen-taichou." She agreed quickly and then dashed towards Seireitei.

* * *

Ichigo glared angrily at the panther as best he could from his position bleeding on the ground. He'd been fighting the beast for less than five minutes and already he'd lost count of the gashes the cat had inflicted upon him. If he hadn't had such a strong will to live he'd have been dead by now. As it was he was suffering greatly from blood loss and his vision was fading dangerously in and out of focus.

"I thought you were supposed to be able to fight? You're no more fun than those little adjuchas shits who think they can beat me."

Ichigo didn't bother responding, there wasn't much he could do. He'd lost Zangetsu earlier and the sword now lay near Akiko, who's been pummeled unconscious by the sheer force of the panther's reiatsu.

'_I'd say yer' screwed.'_

Ichigo's head jerked up. "Who said that?!"

"You going crazy, Shinigami?" The panther asked bemusedly.

Ichigo ignored him, if the panther hadn't heard it then it had come from his head. But Ichigo was confused, the voice he'd heard had sounded nothing like Zangetsu.

'_Damn right I don't sound like that old man!'_

_What the hell are you?! _Ichigo demanded.

'_That's not nice.'_ The voice scolded. _'I'm a who not a what!'_

_Fine! Who the hell are you?!_

'_Can't you tell? I'm you.'_

"What?!" Ichigo demanded out loud, to the panther's amusement.

'_Let me have control!'_

Then Ichigo felt a pressure building in his head, almost like a steadily increasing migraine.

_Are you doing this?! _Ichigo demanded. The only answer he got was a demented chuckle. _You are! Stop! You'll get me killed!_

'_No that's what you're doing, Partner. You can't fight this thing, you're not strong enough! So let me!'_

Ichigo felt the pain in his head increase dramatically.

_No!_

'_Yes!'_

Ichigo fought the pressure and pain for as long as he could, but, with the panther watching interestedly, he eventually fell into black unconsciousness.

'_Mine!' _He heard the voice call out joyfully before he knew no more.

_**NOTES**_

First off, I cannot apoligize enough to you guys. My only excuse is that college ate my muse and my free time. I've had to write more papers in my first semester than I wrote in my entire High School career. Hopefully you'll all be understanding, if not, well I'm sorry to see you go.

Next chapter we get some action! Will the hollow keep control? What are Aizen and Gin up to? And what about Urahara? Of course we can't forget Ichigo, all he really wants to do is get on with his afterlife, but it seems like that won't be happening anytime soon. Poor guy.

Other than that I didn't really get any questions from the last chapter so there isn't much response other than thank yous.

THANKYOU to my wonderful, glorious, and many other adjectives beta Unsane Chibi.

THANKYOU to the generous Creek for allowing me to use his character. (hope I haven't messed him up too badly...)

A HUGE THAKYOU to all my reviewers: Elistax, Phamalama, Sarloos, Kilonji, Baal of Yarns, divad relffehs, MysticMaiden 18, Shimo Ino, smlotrfan, Shahar Mystral, Wild Dragon's breath, Shakugan no Shana, cityangelz, Unsane Chibi, MysteriousEyez, sandcat, Mizu1411, Dark Inu Fan, amethyst ichigo, Idiotic-Ice, SSJXThead, and Xstarlight-dragonX

And finally THANKYOU to the 80 plus people who've watched/favorited this story.

PLEASE REVIEW! I have ANONYMOUS REVIEWS ENABLED! I don't mind if you copy/paste 'good job'! Reviews help me to know how I'm doing and questions and comments can even affect how I write this story!


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